Mobile Computing

At the turn of the 21st century, I used a monochrome Palm based PDA, depended on MapQuest to get where I was going and I asked permission to plug in to a customer or prospect's network while visiting their facility. But, then the Kyocera QCP 6035 Smartphone came in to my life. I could now get e-mail when I stepped off the plane, browse the internet and maintain & synchronize my mobile device with my MS Outlook calendar back in the office. These were very important to me, because I was out of the office about 35-40% of the time. Unfortunately, the device aged quickly and looked like an antique in a few short years. In 2005, I progressed to the Windows based Motorola Q (Moto Q), which I loved. I tried the first generation of iPhone in 2007, but I preferred the keyboard on my "Q". Eventually, I switched to the iPhone 3GS in 2009 and to the iphone 4S in 2013.

Steve Jobs proclaimed in 2007 that "the phone was not just a communication tool but a way of life", and I absolutely agree with his vision. It has changed all our lives forever. Both of my kids have iPhones and it is very common for a child to get one by the time they are ten. I joke that my son suffers from the new phone break-itis, because he has had an iPhone 3gs, 4s and 5 in the past four years. This is pretty much like the salesforce that my communications group supported - the phones always seemed to start breaking when the next iPhone was released.

Today, I have more computing power in my pocket than it took to land man on the moon and run corporations on mainframes in the 60's, 70's and 80's. With all this power it is only natural to want to be able to use it in a productive way at work. This is what is causing the Consumerization of IT and fueling Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to work phenomenon. Just like social computing in the enterprise, the up-and-coming workforce expects this and it can impact a company's ability to attract and retain younger workers.

According to a Trend Micro study, almost half of the total number of enterprises that allow BYOD experienced data breaches due to employee liable devices that access their networks. Organizations should embrace this Consumerization to unlock its business potential, but it requires a strategic approach, flexible policies and appropriate security and management tools. Otherwise, it creates security risks, financial exposure and a management nightmare for IT.Costs saved from the acquisition of the mobile devices should be used to invest in a Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform to allow for easy enrollment of mobile devices to help IT:

Regain visibility and control by managing company data and limiting liabilities on personal devices

Ted Schadler, Vice President & Principal Analyst - Forrester Research, talks about mobile devices, Consumerization and the concept of HEROes (Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives) and why you should seek them out and support them.

CIO talks to Forrrester`s Ted Schadler: HEROes

Ted Schadler on Consumerization

Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management (MDM) Software was published in May 2012 and it rates the playing field of vendors for you to consider. One of the Leaders in the mobility space is MaaS360 by Fiberlink, which is a local Philadelphia company. I have met with them to see their product demonstrations. At one event, the customer sitting next to me gave the product a great testimonial and ended up going to work for them within the next two weeks. They are growing at a very healthy rate because of this BYOD phenomenon. Below is a series of webcasts hosted by MaaS360 and they do a great job explaining the market. There is also a slide presentation on the ABCs of MDM by Fiberlink, which would make great bedtime reading for future mobile workers.

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The webcast on March 13, 2013 "Achieving Multi-Platform Support in the BYOD Era" gives you a great overview of the MDM market. Market research indicates that more than 1 billion smartphones have been sold world-wide in the last 5 years. Gartner predicts that number will double in 2013 with the sale of an additional 1.2 billion smart devices (phones & tablets). MaaS360 has over 2 million smart devices under management and they show the market to be broken down as follows: iOS = 77%, Android = 17%, BlackBerry = 4% and Others including Windows = 2%. During the presentation they go through why they feel the market is this way and how Android will most likely grow.

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